Rocking the Virbank Gym! Part 2 (Japanese: 激闘タチワキジム！VSホミカ（後編）Fierce Fighting at Tachiwaki Gym! VS Homika!! (Part 2)) is the 84th episode of the Best Wishes series, and the 741st episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on June 14, 2012 and in the United States on October 20, 2012.

Contents

Blurb

The Virbank Gym battle rages on between Ash and Gym Leader Roxie! Ash has finally managed to knock out Roxie’s powerful Koffing, but it soon becomes clear that her Scolipede is just as powerful, as it makes short work of Ash’s Leavanny. He has three Pokémon left to Roxie’s two—but the numbers advantage doesn’t necessarily mean Ash has the upper hand!

Next up is the Fire-type Pignite, who has an advantage over the Bug-type Scolipede—and in a fiery battle, switching between Flame Charge and Flamethrower, Pignite manages to take Scolipede down! But Pignite has been hit with Toxic, and it’s badly poisoned...at least until Roxie generously offers it a Pecha Berry to cure the poison.

Roxie is down to just one Pokémon left: her enormous Garbodor. The battle between Garbodor and Pignite is a wild back-and-forth exchange, and Roxie’s fans never stop cheering her on—so Iris decides Ash needs some moral support, and she and Axew start cheering for him! After Garbodor eliminates Pignite with a powerful Hyper Beam, Ash sends out Palpitoad...but their bout doesn’t last long, as Garbodor’s combination of Gunk Shot and Venoshock proves to be overwhelming.

Ash calls on his final Pokémon—it’s Pikachu, of course! Pikachu’s speed keeps it out of Garbodor’s reach for some time, but the big Pokémon eventually manages to grab Pikachu and land several direct hits with DoubleSlap—which triggers Pikachu’s special Ability, Static! Garbodor is paralyzed, giving Pikachu an opening to attack. But before too long, Garbodor shakes off its paralysis and tries to turn the tide again.

To lift Ash’s spirits, Iris breaks out the face paint and recruits Cilan to her cheering squad, and their drumming and chanting are loud and clear over Roxie’s rowdy crowd! With that morale boost, Ash and Pikachu battle back with a series of crackling Electric-type attacks, and with one last Electro Ball, Garbodor is down and out—and Ash has won the Toxic Badge, putting him directly on the path to the Unova League!

Plot

The episode begins with a recap of Ash's Gym battle against Roxie, with her Koffing taking out two of his Pokémon before getting knocked out by his Leavanny. However, Roxie has sent out Scolipede to follow up, who instantly struck Leavanny with Toxic. Badly poisoned and nearly unable to stand, Leavanny fires an Energy Ball which Scolipede dodges, and Roxie orders a Rock Tomb, trapping Leavanny in rocks. Scolipede launches a Sludge Bomb that hits Leavanny head-on, knocking him out.

Billy Jo taunts Ash having only half his team left, but Ash remains confident that they can win, sending out Pignite. Cilan remarks that Pignite is a great matchup against Scolipede for type. Ash orders Flame Charge, but Roxie catches on that Ash is attempting to boost Pignite's speed while dealing damage, and counters with Screech. The sound waves end up being disruptive enough for Pignite to break Flame Charge. Pignite fires Flamethrower, but Scolipede dodges again and poisons Pignite with Toxic. Ash encourages Pignite not to give up and calls for Fire Pledge. Pignite manages to stand up despite the poison, launching his pillars of fire that bathe Scolipede in flames, knocking it out. Roxie surprises Ash and his friends when she tosses Pignite a Pecha Berry, curing him of his poison, saying that it wouldn't be fun facing a poisoned opponent. Nicky and Billy Jo can only remark "that's our Roxie", joining Roxie in psyching up the crowd to cheer Roxie on. Cilan is impressed at how Roxie is using the crowd in her favor, making for a truly uniquely flavored Gym. Iris isn't impressed and briefly runs off. Roxie sends out her third Pokémon, Garbodor, which Ash scans.

Ash orders another Flame Charge, but Roxie orders Garbodor to dodge - which it does by pushing against the ground with its arms and extending them, shocking Ash's group. Garbodor then lands on Pignite, sending its weight down on Pignite. Garbodor then grabs Pignite from underneath it and uses Doubleslap on it. Cilan is amazed that Garbodor can limitlessly extend its arms, pointing out that this will make it difficult for Ash's attacks to connect. Ash calls for Flamethrower, which Garbodor dodges in the same way, but as this happens Ash orders a Tackle. Pignite slams itself into Garbodor's extended arms, causing the Trash Heap Pokémon to come crashing down. Ash orders Fire Pledge, but Roxie orders Garbodor to block it - using its extendable arm. Garbodor then blocks Pignite's fist from connecting with the floor, stopping the move, before proceeding to strike Pignite with DoubleSlap. Billy Jo rouses the crowd again, and Iris reveals herself to have brought along a ceremonial drum (much to Cilan's surprise) to cheer for Ash. Ash is happy that Iris is cheering for him, and orders a Fire Pledge from Pignite. Roxie counters with Hyper Beam, blasting through Fire Pledge and knocking Pignite out. Roxie remarks that she doesn't just stick to Poison-type attacks and techniques.

Ash sends out Palpitoad as his fifth Pokémon; Cilan once again points out the type advantage Ash has. Ash orders a Mud Shot, but Garbodor once again dodges in the same way. Roxie compliments Palpitoad for the strength of his Mud Shot before calling for another Hyper Beam, which Ash counters with Hydro Pump, cancelling it out. The water spray causes Pikachu to briefly take notice of Meloetta, who has been watching the battle; it quickly hides itself with invisibility. Ash orders another Mud Shot, but Garbodor responds with Gunk Shot, launching a trash bag that meets Mud Shot head-on. The trash bag bursts to release poison-coated garbage, striking Palpitoad and poisoning him as well. Roxie follows up with Venoshock as Garbodor soaks Palpitoad in green goop, shocking his system. Ash is stunned at this latest development as Cilan explains that Venoshock deals a lot of damage if the target is poisoned. Garbodor launches another Venoshock, dealing heavy damage to Palpitoad and fainting him.

Ash finishes up with Pikachu as his final Pokémon. Roxie again compliments Pikachu's cuteness while Ash says that Pikachu is strong, and ending things with equal numbers is alright with him. Cilan and Iris are worried that Ash is down to his last Pokémon. Roxie begins by ordering DoubleSlap, and Garbodor sends its arms out to lash at Pikachu. Ash orders continuous dodges with Pikachu weaving in and out of Garbodor's arms, causing Garbodor's arms to tangle up! Roxie is surprised at this new development as Pikachu uses Quick Attack, hitting Garbodor in the face. Garbodor tries to attack again, but Pikachu dodges and fires Thunderbolt to knock Garbodor over. As Garbodor gets up, Ash orders an Iron Tail, but Roxie has Garbodor swing its arms to throw Pikachu off, and orders a flurry of Gunk Shots. Pikachu is cornered by the flying exploding trash bags, and Roxie calls for Garbodor to grab Pikachu and pin him to the ceiling before releasing, letting Pikachu plummet into range of DoubleSlap and unable to counter. The crowd cheers Roxie on as Ash falters, unable to think of a way out. Distressed and angry, Iris drags Cilan off for another plan that Cilan is initially very unnerved with.

After continuous DoubleSlaps, Garbodor notices that its arm is somehow getting numb. Roxie orders for another Gunk Shot that hits, poisoning Pikachu. Ash is extremely worried at this point but much to his surprise, Iris and Cilan cheer him on with a pair of ceremonial drums and their faces all painted up. The sight encourages Ash and Pikachu as the latter manages to stand up. Roxie orders Garbodor to use Venoshock. Garbodor tries to attack, but suddenly Garbodor gets surrounded in electricity and becomes unable to use Venoshock which shocks Roxie. Roxie's band members note that Garbodor has been paralyzed, but they wonder how did that happen. Cilan shouts that Static has taken effect after Garbodor's DoubleSlap had hit Pikachu so many times, thereby severely hampering its movements. Pikachu fires a Thunderbolt which Garbodor unwillingly takes. Roxie calls for Venoshock. Garbodor attacks, but Ash orders Pikachu to use Electro Ball. Garbodor's Venoshock is unable to stop Electro Ball until the attack finally hits Garbodor, knocking it out. The stunned referee declares Ash the winner of the match.

Ash rushes onto the field to pick up his poisoned Pikachu, while Roxie retrieves Garbodor, handing him a Pecha Berry for Pikachu. Iris and Cilan congratulate Ash on his win, and Ash thanks them for the encouragement, though somewhat bemused by their face paint. Roxie is somewhat disappointed and surprised that she's finally lost, but nonetheless awards Ash with the Toxic Badge as her band and fans all cheer him on. Meloetta is visibly pleased at the result and flies away.

The narrator concludes the episode by stating that Ash has now qualified to enter the Unova League.

Trivia

Team Rocket hijacks the Live Caster from Professor Oak at the beginning of this segment. They took over Professor Oak's role of taking charge of an eight-week movie-related promotion that gave fans a chance to win prizes.

This is the last episode of Best Wishes season 1. The following episode starts Best Wishes! Season 2 arc.

Iris and Cilan's face paint used motifs of fire and lightning; possible references to Reshiram and Zekrom. In addition, Iris is assigned the motif of lightning - in the games, Iris is the Gym Leader faced in Pokémon White version, of which Zekrom is its mascot.